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Back to Bookham: black sheep, BlazeAid and bloody hard work

“All is well now,” says Dee Bush as she flops down on the couch, exhausted. It’s been a stressful year for a number of reasons.

Almost all their property was engulfed in flames.

They lost 700 young sheep; her husband Ian, who is the captain of the Bookham bushfire brigade is still recovering from open heat surgery; and a dear friend was killed in a car crash not even a few kilometres from their house.

But ‘all is well now.’

We’ve really recovered now but I would never want to go though it again, it was exhausting and very stressful

'Old Bogolara'

Dee and Ian Bush have owned land along the Childowla Road for 42 years. The couple are into their 70s now and work continues as normal on their farm, they haven’t slowed down.

They haven’t had the chance this year. But 2013 has given Dee and Ian a gift that they never would have had were it not for the bushfire in January. They met BlazeAid.

“They gave us hope, they’re given us hope to go on, they got us through and then the community helped them. Everyone was helping everyone. I think it was a lovely feeling.

“They came in and did 15km of fencing. We don’t have a big property, but we have lots of small paddocks.”

“We never would have recovered without that. We still have a few to go but we’re on the way.”

For a community to take on BlazeAid for a few months is a big commitment. BlazeAid help with the fencing or any necessary work free of charge, but the community must provide meals and shelter and a meeting point and farmers must be organised.

Farmers from Bookham who were used to managing a team of one or two were suddenly faced with a workforce of about 10. Most admit this was very stressful but then concede the extra demands were far outweighed by the kilometres of new fences and the unexpected injection of culture, diversity and friendship into their community.

In another life Dee Bush owned a commercial catering business for 25 years so she knew how to cook for a crowd.

“But I wasn’t 70 then,” she said.

Each lunchtime her volunteers were spoiled: ham and cheese melts, tuna and pasta bake, and then for sweets - fairy butterfly cakes (a favourite), chocolate slice or date loaf.

“I had a friend who came here for a whole week to help me cook for BlazeAid. We had to take lunch way up into the back paddocks where it was all burnt and awful," she said.

We'd get the cloth out and we’d put it on the table and they all talked about opera and all kinds of interesting things.

Dee Bush 'Old Bogolara'

“Bookham has always been a very close community and a great community. I think the BlazeAid people like the community, I don’t think they have ever been involved in such a close community and such a giving community; they were blown away with what was going on in Bookham.

“Even now BlazeAid volunteers are coming back and house sitting for all the farmers that want a break away.

“They gave us hope because there is no way we could have done all the hard work. They were cheerful and we used to have picnics out in the paddock and we’d all talk and laugh. Then I’d come home and collapse!

"We kept going because they kept going."

As we sit on the couch and chat I ask Dee if things are back to normal. She says the routine is back to normal, but the scars of the fire will impact their sheep breeding operation for a few more years.

“We’ll have black sheep for at least three years I would say," she said.

"We were spraying thistles this morning up in the really badly burnt country and underneath all the tree’s is black dust at least six inches thick and the trees are black and the sheep are all black now.

“If we hadn’t had a good lambing we would have nothing and we would be very poor, especially at our age, we’re in our 70s. If we didn’t get going we wouldn’t have a very good future.

“If we have to have another one we will and we will come through it - but I don’t really want to have to face it ever again.”